Sambah Francis, Quansah Frank, Srem-Sai Medina, Frimpong James Boadu, Agormedah Edmond Kwesi, Ankomah Francis, Hagan John Elvis
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
Department of Educational Foundations, University of Education, P. O. Box 25, Winneba, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2023 Jul 6;9(7):e17936. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17936. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Available evidence suggests that managing the complexities of health information and the behaviours associated with information search call for adequate digital health literacy (DHL). Students' ability to judge the relevance of health-related information largely affects their level of satisfaction with the information. The study assessed DHL, information searching behaviours, and the link between DHL and COVID-19 information. The cross-sectional study utilised the multi-stage sampling technique in the selection of 1392 secondary school students in the Northern Region of Ghana. A DHL questionnaire was used to survey the students. The students displayed inadequate level of DHL concerning the relevance of online information. Predictably, most of them had not searched for information in the past four weeks prior to the data collection. Search engine portals, websites of public bodies, and news portals were the predominant platforms used for information search. Majority of the participants reported not being satisfied with the information they found on the internet about coronavirus. A significant association between DHL levels and utilization of COVID-19 information platforms was identified, such that students who showed high levels of DHL used platforms which had reviewed/professional content compared to those with low levels of DHL. Advanced DHL may serve as a disincentive to the consumption of information from sources which are not credible. There is an urgent call for collaboration among the ministries/agencies responsible for education and health, telecommunication networks, and civil society organisations for interventions aimed at integrating DHL in schools..
现有证据表明，应对健康信息的复杂性以及与信息搜索相关的行为需要具备足够的数字健康素养（DHL）。学生判断健康相关信息相关性的能力在很大程度上影响他们对信息的满意度。该研究评估了数字健康素养、信息搜索行为以及数字健康素养与新冠疫情信息之间的联系。这项横断面研究采用多阶段抽样技术，选取了加纳北部地区的1392名中学生。使用一份数字健康素养问卷对学生进行调查。学生在在线信息相关性方面表现出数字健康素养水平不足。不出所料，在数据收集前的过去四周里，他们中的大多数人没有搜索过信息。搜索引擎门户网站、公共机构网站和新闻门户网站是信息搜索的主要平台。大多数参与者表示对他们在互联网上找到的有关冠状病毒的信息不满意。研究发现数字健康素养水平与新冠疫情信息平台的使用之间存在显著关联，即与数字健康素养水平低的学生相比，数字健康素养水平高的学生使用经过审核/具有专业内容的平台。较高的数字健康素养可能会抑制人们从不可信来源获取信息。迫切需要负责教育和卫生的部委/机构、电信网络和民间社会组织之间开展合作，以采取旨在将数字健康素养纳入学校教育的干预措施。
